A standard electrical outlet has open slots that expose children to potentially lethal electrical shock hazards. A curious child is prone to insert a conductive object into one of the slots. A child can be shocked if they are in simultaneous contact with a xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d conductor and a low impedance path to ground. To avoid this risk, parents of young children frequently insert nonconductive plugs into all unused outlets to block out other objects. These plugs, however, significantly reduce outlet convenience. Standard AC plugs also create a shock hazard due to their tendency to pull partially out of an outlet, leaving exposed prongs that remain connected to electrical power. A child can easily touch these with their small fingers or a conductive object. Further, in research, industrial or military environments, an explosion hazard exists when electrical outlets are used in the vicinity of volatile chemicals and gases, which can be ignited with an inadvertent spark at an exposed contact.
A safety electrical connection system according to the present invention provides a covered outlet and a corresponding locking plug. Spring-loaded covers block small children from probing the outlet with fingers and foreign objects, yet allow adults to insert a corresponding locking plug without cover removal. Internally, outlet receptacles have no exposed contacts, further reducing the potential for electrical shock. The covered outlet is compatible with existing electrical boxes. A corresponding face plate provides aesthetic wall trim for the outlet and functions to environmentally seal the conductors within. The locking plug is configured to compress the covers when inserted into the outlet. The plug has retracting contacts that extend within the outlet to make a fully-enclosed electrical connection and to lock the plug in place. The plug can be pre-wired as a locking plug or configured as an adapter plug that converts a conventional AC plug to a locking plug.